Nursing of Diabetic Retinopathy in Type 2 Diabetes patients

Abstract

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease with increasing prevalence. It is one of the five leading causes of death in non-communicable diseases. Main reason is from the complications in different systems and organs, such as cardiovascular, eyes, kidneys and feet. These results in a large amount of resources in management of diabetic patients. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the complications and is the second cause of blindness, first cause being cataract. The cause of DR is prolong high level of blood sugar, causing damages to small vessels resulting in occlusion, ischemia, fragility of vessels, fibrous formation, tractional retinal detachment and permanent loss of vision in the affected eye. Nurses should have a good understanding about the signs and symptoms of the disease. They should be able to assess the risks and obstacles present in each
patient, to educate, to advise and to promote their patients knowledge including their relatives regarding the goals of the treatment. This includes the healthcare pathway and the importance of initial DR screening and the continuation of long term follow up, in order for patients to start treatment when necessary and to reduce the loss of permanent visual loss.